JAKARTA – Representing the Karya Mandiri Farmers with Disabilities Group (Kelompok Tani Disabilitas) in the FGD activity with the theme Inventory of Climate Change Problems and Mitigation Efforts as Part of Village Development Efforts, Supriyati (Sriwedari Village Head), Maghfiroh (Karya Mandiri representative), and Dwi Suryandari (Chair of Sriwedari Village Proklim) shared good practices regarding the participation of disability groups in adaptation and mitigation efforts to the impacts of climate change. "Disability is not an obstacle to being able to work and live independently, stay strong so you can help yourself and others around you," encouraged Dwi Suryandari at the Mercure Hotel Jakarta Gatot Subroto, Wednesday (24/04/2024).
The Karya Mandiri Farmers with Disabilities Group (KTD) is in Sriwedari Village, Salaman District, Magelang Regency, which is a village where there is an area prone to landslides. Sriwedari Village and Karya Mandiri is a village and group that has been assisted by the BINTARI Foundation since the Climate Change Adaptation/API-INCLUSIVE program. The KTD has at least 13 disabled members who are active in adaptation and mitigation activities to the impacts of climate change in Sriwedari Village. They have different limitations such as hearing impairment, physical impairment, speech impairment, and mental disorders. Despite these limitations, the KTD members actively participate in activities such as planting trees that are resistant to climate change such as Sengon trees (Falcataria mollucana) and Vetiver plants (Vetiveria zizanioides) which are known as alternative landslide prevention plants. This is supported because Sriwedari Village has a program so that people with disabilities can be productive and independent. The village provides various training on planting fruit trees such as avocado seeds, longan seeds, durian seeds, conservation seeds such as sea pine, and flowerpots made from coconut fiber. The hope is that farmers with disabilities can have their needs met and that ongoing programs can improve the village economy and empower farmers with disabilities. In sharing good practices, Dwi Suryandari also underlined that the efforts made by KTD had brought Sriwedari Village to the Main Climate Village Program (Program Kampung Iklim) award in October 2023.
On the second day, together with village representatives who have also implemented a mitigation program for the impacts of climate change in the province of Bangka Belitung, D.I. Yogyakarta, East Java, and East Kalimantan who attended the forum, Supriyati, Maghfiroh, and Dwi Suryandari exhibited and promoted fruit seed products and conservation plants produced by KTD. "Our seed products received extraordinary enthusiasm. Even when Asian Development Bank representatives visited our exhibition stand, they were interested in visiting and seeing firsthand how KTD activities in Sriwedari Village," concluded Dwi when interviewed by the team of BINTARI Foundation.